The Challenge

eReplacementParts.com, an online leader in the sales of replacement parts, believes that fixing things makes sense because it is better for the consumer’s wallet and the environment. They began selling power tool parts more than 13 years ago and then expanded into appliance, lawn equipment, vacuum, consumer electronics, and plumbing parts. As they added more categories, vendors, and individual items, the processing of POs, invoices, and order confirmations became more resource intensive.

With hundreds of vendors, each using a different document format, the company spent many hours per month printing, filing, manually entering data into a back-end system, and storing paper documents. Not only was the manual process inefficient, it also went against the company’s mission to eliminate waste.

eReplacementParts.com wanted to improve the accuracy of its procurement and accounting processes by utilizing intelligent document capture (IDC) technology to digitize paper documents and integrate the information with its homegrown, back-end systems. The company needed technology that was easily customizable, flexible, and scalable. After researching IDC technologies, the company identified Ephesoft as a potential solution. Ephesoft recommended that the company’s IT group speak with systems integrator and partner, Zia Consulting.

The Solution

Zia experts were able to address any questions the team had about Ephesoft, especially around customization and flexibility. Dave Fairbanks, founder of eReplacementParts.com, said “Zia consultants were essential in helping us assess our actual needs, understanding how the technology could be used, and determining what type of solution would work best with our environment and budget.”

After receiving a demo and trying the software, eReplacementParts.com selected Ephesoft and Zia to help configure and provide support through the implementation.

The IT group determined that the cost of Ephesoft was 80% lower than other proprietary document capture solutions and offered a scalable platform that could grow with the organization.

“We are an IT-savvy company and did most of the Ephesoft implementation ourselves. We leveraged Zia to help us through any questions or issues that we had,” said Fairbanks. Zia helped eReplacementParts.com determine how to configure the solution and where to customize it. Zia also helped address any bugs in the software and fixed it so that the IT group could complete the implementation.

eReplacementParts.com easily customized Ephesoft to meet their specific needs and leveraged advanced product features. For example, with the database look-up functionality, the company can compare information from paper documents with their database. This, combined with some custom JavaScript, ensures that vendor, product, and pricing information is accurate. JavaScript is also used to read and add each line item on an invoice ensuring it matches the total number of parts listed. This is no longer calculated manually, saving time and improving accuracy.

Today, when paper invoices arrive, they are scanned using Fujitsu scanners with Kofax to improve readability. Images enter the Ephesoft server where text is extracted from the documents and converted into an electronic form. The IT group created custom forms to integrate with their ERP systems. The system quickly retrieves the appropriate data fields for classification and validates the information with POs and the receipts database, flagging exceptions or directing document to the appropriate system for processing.

The Results

With the support Zia provided, eReplacementParts.com has an accurate and efficient electronic invoicing and account process. The new system saves time, allowing workers to focus on high-value activities.

Regardless of format, the company can quickly and easily convert paper to electronic forms for faster processing.

Using Ephesoft, the company can validate and ensure that its databases are up to date.

The Ephesoft solution was up and running in three months. Zia was responsive and knowledgeable providing excellent support through the selection, implementation, and ongoing management of Ephesoft. eReplacementParts.com now has a flexible and scalable capture platform that can grow with the company as they continue to expand and grow.